The present invention relates to a roller skate having a braking device.
Conventional skates are sometimes provided with a braking device constituted by an adapted block or pad, usually made of rubber, arranged at the toe or heel region of the skate; when the user tilts the skate forwards or backwards, the pad interacts with the ground and braking is thus achieved.
However, this braking device is not ideal, because the user has to rotate the skate, and this can cause loss of balance and consequent falls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465984 discloses a braking device for skates, comprising a shoe composed of a quarter that is articulated to a shell that is in turn associated with a frame for pivoting and supporting two or more wheels.
The device comprises a rod member connected to the quarter. The rod member can slide with respect to the shell, and is arranged above a braking element at one end. The braking element is articulated to the frame so that it can oscillate and interact selectively with the ground.
The rod member constrains the movement between the quarter and the braking element, which is constituted by a support for a brake whereon a rubber block that acts on the ground is connected.
The rod member, which connects the quarter to the brake support, can be likened to a linkage, since it is generally affected by a compressive stress; this forces the designer to use a rigid element, otherwise the rod member would bend without transmitting the force applied by the quarter.
The shapes and dimensions of the rod member must be studied as a function of the specific use and of the corresponding stresses to which it will be subjected during sports practice, taking also into account any accidental lateral impacts that it may suffer, increasing design costs and therefore the overall cost of the skate.
Finally, the aesthetic configuration of the skate is considerably worsened by the presence of the rod member located in the rear region of the skate.
EP-A-0600274 discloses a braking device comprising a traction element that connects the quarter to a braking element, so as to allow to achieve braking when a stress is applied to the quarter. The traction element is constituted by an actuation cable.
Due to braking stability reasons, the action of the braking element on the ground must be provided in the region lying to the rear of the frame. Furthermore, in order to allow the rotation of the quarter to tension the actuation cable and therefore allow the action of the brake on the ground, the cable must pass in front of the rotation point of the cuff on the shell.
This braking device has drawbacks; the location of the actuation cable in the front lateral region of the skate entails constructive and aesthetic constraints for the manufacture of said skate.
The actuation cable might in fact be inserted in a sheath that is fixed to the shell by appropriate means: in this case, however, the length of the sheath would have to be limited in any case, in order to allow the quarter to rotate with respect to the shell, and it would therefore be necessary to leave a portion of the cable exposed that could be damaged during sports practice.
As an alternative, the seat for the cable might be provided directly on the walls of the shell of the skate; however, in this case the thickness of the shell should be increased, thus increasing its rigidity in the median region of the foot, in contrast with the requirement of having a certain softness in order to allow the user to practice the sport in the best manner.
Another drawback that can be observed in the prior art resides in the fact that the presence of the rod member located in the rear region of the quarter can be a hindrance during sports practice and particularly when, especially in freestyle skating, one skate is passed behind the other.